Heretofore, there has been known a shifter for an automatic transmission usable in a vehicle such as an automotive vehicle, wherein the shifter comprises a shift lock switch (shift lock mechanism) for performing control of locking and unlocking (lock-releasing) a shift lever in a state in which the shift lever is shifted to a parking range position, as disclosed, for example, in JP 11-245680A.
A shift lock mechanism disclosed in the above patent publication is configured to be engaged with an arm formed at a lower end of a rod provided inside a shift lever in an axially movable manner, to thereby inhibit the movement of the rod. More specifically, the shift lock mechanism disclosed in the above patent publication comprises: a key lever and a support lever configured to clampingly hold the arm therebetween; a lock pin configured to be engaged with a concave portion provided in the support lever to thereby inhibit rotational movement of the support lever; and an actuator configured to cause the lock pin to be engaged and disengaged with respect to the concave portion. In the above patent publication, these components of the shift lock mechanism, i.e., the key lever, the support lever, the lock pin and the actuator, are assembled inside a shifter.
However, due to the configuration in which the components of the shift lock mechanism such as the actuator are assembled inside the shifter, the shifter disclosed in the above patent publication has a problem that it is necessary to take a lot of time for the assembling.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an automatic transmission shifter capable of allowing a control switch unit for controlling a shift lever to be readily assembled to a predetermined position.